In the South Arm Community Kitchen, we served the Chicken with Tomato Sauce with a side dish of Quinoa Pilaf.
Ingredients
Source: this recipe is adapted from allrecipes
This Superfoods Salad was made for last year’s South Arm fund raiser for the food bank and it was sold out very quickly. Michelle decided to make it at the South Arm Older Adults Cooking Club since it has not be made in the kitchen before.
This Superfoods Salad is good for a few days in the refrigerator. It is great for potluck too. This ecipe makes approximately 8 to 10 servings. For home consumption, it is recommended to halve the recipe.
Ingredients
Vegetables
Dressing
Source: via South Arm Cooking Club for Older Adults
Makes approximately 8 to 10 servings.
The ingredient introduced in this recipe is millet. Millet is a cereal grain with origins in Asia and Africa. Millet has been cultivated for 10,000 years. In India, it is often mixed with other grains to make flat bread. It is an important part of the diet in many parts of Africa.
Millet is gluten-free and rich in B vitamins.
This Millet and Cauliflower Casserole is vegan, wheat and dairy free. However, this recipe is very adaptable. You may add Parmesan cheese to it to entice kids to eat. You may substitute the millet with other grain like quinoa. This casserole makes a great potluck dish.
Ingredients
Source: this recipe is adapted from The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook
For a healthier option, the South Arm Seniors’ Kitchen also prepared some Quinoa Burgers.
The Quinoa Burgers are so colourful. We served the Quinoa Burgers with Roasted Cherry Tomato Salsa which I will post next week.
Ingredients
Source: via Colleen
Ian Lai made a simplified Mah Poh Tofu to be served with some multigrain rice during the Healthy Eating and Fun Cooking demonstration.
Mah Poh Tofu is a popular Szechuan dish. The name came from the old lady with pocked marked who sell this dish along the street.
Ingredients
Ian bought the above ingredients from T&T
This is the second last kitchen for the South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors for this season. Colleen prepared a theme of Middle Eastern flavours with recipe like Tabbouleh and recipes with ingredients like walnuts and dates that are common in the middle east.
Colleen got the inspiration from a request from a participant who wanted to learn how to use bulgur wheat.
Bulgur is a whole grain with equal calcium and protein as found in brown rice but has fewer calories, less fat and more fiber and folate. It is found in various grinds or sizes. The above which Colleen bought from the Real Canadian Superstore is of a larger grain. Bulgur can be used in soups and bread.
Tabbouleh is best served after chilling in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight for the flavour to mellow.
Colleen served the Tabbouleh with some crispy Baked Pita Chips.
Ingredients
Source: via Colleen
I had to accompany Ben to the Chinese Visa Office to apply his visa for his next business trip to Beijing. So, I only managed to get to the South Arm Seniors Kitchen just after 11:00AM.
I was so surprised that the group had finished cooking and had started to eat already. I managed to take some photos of the food before I sat down to savour the food.
Quinoa is said to have more calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc and Vitamin E than any other grain. Technically, quinoa is not a grain but a seed. It is very similar to animal-based protein, as it contains all 8 essential amino acids.
Ingredients
Source: via Colleen
Besides the Orange and Pecan Salad with Red Onion Dressing, Michelle also prepared another side dish for the South Arm Seniors Kitchen. The seniors had expressed their interest in learning more about grains.
Michelle brought a grain called Farro to make a simple side dish. There are other grains which are very similar to farro like emmer, spelt and einkorn. Barley also has similar characteristic as farro and so, you may substitute farro with barley in recipes. Farro can be eaten plain or used in salad and soups.
Here is the recipe for a spelt salad and some barley soups (Herbed Lentil and Barley Soup, Hearty Bean Barley Soup, Barley Yogurt Soup and Mushroom, Barley and lentil Soup) that I had blogged before.
Farro is sold dried and is prepared by cooking in water for about an hour or more until soft, but still crunchy (it is recommended first soaking the farro over night). The ratio of water to grain to cook the farro is 2 to 1.
The farro that Michelle brought is the pearled version which takes a much shorter time to cook, about 15 minutes. Michelle bought it from … (more…)
Minoo prepared three recipes for the Gilmore Park Church community kitchen. Two of the recipes were taken from Vancouver Sun.
The recipes include a Lentil, Barley and Brown Rice Salad with Dates and Feta, a Butternut Squash Gratin with Parmesan Sage Breadcrumbs and a Ginger Pumpkin Muffin recipe.
The combination of grains and legumes in the Lentil, Barley and Brown Rice Salad with Dates and Feta provides a complete protein meal. It is easy to pack for lunch or picnic.
Ingredients
Source: Vancouver Sun
Makes 6 servings
At the Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen, Minoo shared with us some food safe leftovers tips from dietitian Heather McColl. Here is the excerpt:
Double duty dinners are a perfect time-saving solution to getting a homemade dinner on the table in a hurry. When storing and reheating leftovers, use the following measures to keep them food-safe:
- Ensure your fridge is at the correct temperature: 4 degrees or colder. A fridge thermometer is a good investment.
- Refrigerate leftovers immediately after dinner or within 2 hours of cooking.
- Cool food quickly by storing in shallow containers on your refrigerator’s wire shelves to promote maximum airflow and even cooling.
- Quickly cool a large pot of hot food like soup or stew by chilling in an ice bath and stirring frequently before storing in the refrigerator or freezer.
- Chill large pieces of meat or poultry quickly and safely by deboning and dividing into small pieces before storing in the refrigerator
- Date your leftovers and use within 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator or store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- When reheating leftovers, be sure to heat foods to an internal temperature of 74 degrees or bring liquids like soup to a rolling boil.
- A good rule of thumb is when in doubt, throw it out as you can’t tell the safety of food by its look, smell or taste.
The second breakfast item which Minoo shared is a Crunchy Chewy Granola. This granola can be eaten as snacks or as topping on your favourite yogurt.
Ingredients
In this recipe, Minoo introduced us with new sweetener called agave syrup. Agave syrup or nectar is available at Costco and Galloway’s Specialty Foods.
Minoo shared with us the nutrients of agave includes Vitamin A, B1 (Thiamin), B2 (Riboflavin), B3 (Niacin), B6 (Phridoxine), B9 (Folate, Folic Acid), C, E, K, protein, selenium, natural fats, natural sugars, carbohydrates, starch, magnesium, calcium (good amount), iron, potassium, phosphorus, sodium, zinc, copper, manganese and dietary fiber (good amount).
Source: unknown